Earth & Space
In February 2015, Tim Radford reported for the Climate News Network that atmospheric warming is capable of reaching thousands of meters below Greenland’s massive ice sheet, potentially increasing the glaciers’ rate of flow and creating pools of “meltwater” trapped below the ice. Two separate but related studies confirmed that surface melt can drain down to fill concealed lakes under the ice, ultimately contributing to rising sea levels.
The image of a huge asteroid that made a Halloween flyby of Earth yesterday looks so much like a skull, it’s scary.
The uptake of water by contrails in ice-supersaturated air and the release of water after ice particle advection and sedimentation dehydrates the atmosphere at flight levels and redistributes humidity mainly to lower levels. The contrails impact the entire hydrological cycle in the atmosphere by reducing the total water column and the cover by high- and low-level clouds.
Stargazers were being treated to a rare astronomical phenomenon when a total lunar eclipse combined with a so-called supermoon. Here’s a timelapse video footage of the event.
For the first time since the big announcement in July, Hope and James hold this Frank conversation to talk about Life After Overunity on the QEG. What happens after you successfully complete a working free energy device and announce it to the world? The answer might not be what you think!
Many researchers have come to the conclusion that human beings are not from Earth. After a balloon came back from a high altitude flight, it was covered with microscopic life forms that originated from space fueling debate about whether life on earth began here or elsewhere in space.
Patrick Roddie, a geoengineering activist, just testified before Congress delivering a powerful message about how those concerned with global warming are woefully off-point to ignore the effects of persistent contrails (a/k/a chemtrails) on our environment and our health.
Wherever you live or happen to travel to, never complain about the heat and humidity again. In the city of Bandar Mahshahr (population of about 110,000 as of 2010), the air felt like a searing 165 degrees (74 Celsius) [on July 31, 2015]… factoring in the humidity. Although there are no official records of heat indices, this is second highest level we have ever seen reported.
Although plants do not have nervous systems, they respond to stress with chemical and electrical signals that are remarkably similar to those of animals, a new study has found. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, could help to explain why certain plant-derived drugs work so well in humans. At the center of it all is the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which humans and animals, as well as plants, release when they are stressed out.
It is often held aloft by environmental campaign groups as an example of one of the last remaining regions of unspoiled habitat left in the world. But instead of being a pristine rainforest untouched by human hands, the Amazon appears to have been profoundly shaped by mankind. An international team of researchers have published evidence that suggests the Amazon was once home to millions of people who lived and farmed in the area now covered by trees. The scientists claim the Amazon basin was a major centre of crop domestication that saw at least 83 native species being cultivated to some degree.
Physicist Wal Thornhill continues his discussion of NASA’s New Horizons mission to the dwarf planet Pluto. The mission has already provided a number of surprises for planetary scientists. The tiny planet’s geological activity, its apparent age, the stunning features on its moons and more all defy many fundamental ideas in planetary science.
Lightning is an unruly beast; hard to predict and filled with surprises. And according to the National Weather Service, so far this year lightning strikes have killed at least 20 people in the United States, which is almost double the norm. Behind those strikes are some pretty wild facts. Consider the following
NASA’s Kepler Mission is searching for life on other planets, and it recently discovered a promising lead that’s the most Earth-like yet (NASA: “similar to our own”). The new discovery, called Kepler-452b orbits around a sun-like star.
A $100 million donation will fund a new alien-seeking initiative called Breakthrough Listen. Physicist Stephen Hawking and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner announced the $100 million project aimed at searching for alien life at a conference in London. The project will use two powerful telescopes that will scan ten times the amount of sky covered by previous efforts.
